Por(n)tals [0.5] - Devlog #1

Hello there! 👋

It's already been a month since the release of version 0.4. I hope you guys enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next update. Today, I've got the first bits of information about what's coming next.

I started working on the update at the beginning of May, but to be completely honest, I've been slacking off a bit this past month. A few games I was interested in came out (new Poe2 league is awesome!), and I also wanted to catch up on some things I'd been putting off. Don't get me wrong though - it's not like I did absolutely nothing. Progress has definitely been made, but I'm planning to pick up the pace just now. I hope you'll forgive me! 🙏

For version 0.5, I'm planning to take a small step back in terms of size. The script for 0.4 ended up being much longer than previous releases, which meant it took a ton of time to finish - even though I've basically had no life outside of work and Por(n)tals since January. That's why I'd like 0.5 to be a bit smaller. There also won't be any "free roam" sections this time. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of them, but I made one just to learn something new. So expect a more linear experience again. That should help me get the update out faster, though I'm still writing the script, so it's hard to predict the final size at this point.

That being said, even though I want to keep the overall update shorter, one thing is staying the same. In version 0.4, I doubled the number of lewd scenes from 2 to 4, and I'm planning to keep it at 4 for version 0.5. Because of that, they'll be a bit more crammed together, but I hope it won't feel excessive. As for which girls will be getting scenes this time, I'll keep that a secret for now. Feel free to guess.

So, that's it for the general stuff. Now let's talk about the current state of work.

Over the last month, I've finished planning out the entire update. It's divided into 13 scenes, and 4 of them currently have all of their dialogue written. Right now, I'm working on the biggest one, which will cover the journey to the next world. I've obviously started making renders too. There aren't that many yet, though.

In 0.4 the story stopped at a pretty important point, so you can expect quite a few explanations at the beginning of the next update. Most of them could've been done with two simple renders of a character just opening and closing their mouth, but that would be too lazy. That's why I've spent some time working on things like camera angles or small interactions to make the whole thing more interesting, even though it took way more time.

Also, some of you have probably already guessed it, but yes - the woman MC meets at the end of version 0.4 is the final LI who has been hidden in the menu until now. I don't think there's any point in hiding it since she'll be revealed right at the start of the next update anyway. Actually, I was planning to unlock her bio at the end of the 0.4, but... I forgot. Tehee!

Current progress

It ain't much, but it's honest work:

Script - about 25% done.

Renders - exactly 200 renders done at this moment.

Code - not much to code at the moment, so untouched.

That's all for today!

Finally, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Since the release of 0.4, a lot of new people have decided to support the game, and I'm incredibly grateful for that. More than I can really put into words. I'll do my absolute best to not let you down and to deliver the best possible continuation of the story. Thank you, and see you next time!

OneHend

P.S. Eira fans, there's something for you too.